Minnesota State University Moorhead News Home

Dr. T. J. Hansen, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, Law & Politics at Minnesota State University Moorhead, was one of the 37 members of the 2014-2015 Leadership Fargo Moorhead West Fargo class recognized at a graduation ceremony on May 14, 2015 at the Bluestem Center for the Arts in Moorhead, MN.
The 2014-2015 leadership class members were selected in a competitive process in summer 2014 and completed a nine-month leadership program organized by the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce. In addition to engaging in leadership development activities, class members volunteered at local nonprofit organizations, interacted with entrepreneurs and leaders from the region, and participated in Fargo-West Fargo day at the North Dakota legislature.
Each leadership graduate was also part of a team that provided professional expertise to a local nonprofit organization. The team Hansen was a member of assisted Farm in the Dell of the Red River Valley (www.farminthedellrrv.org) with its spring event to grow funds and friends in the region. Proceeds of this event and Community Supported Agriculture shares will advance the organization’s goal of securing a home and land northeast of Moorhead where people with special needs can farm in cooperation with volunteers from the region in a community garden setting.
For more information about the Leadership Fargo Moorhead West Fargo program, visit their website.

The Radio Television Digital News Association has published a summary of Associate Professor Aaron Quanbeck’s research on Edward R. Murrow on its website. Quanbeck was invited to write a blog post for RTDNA after he presented his paper on Murrow’s 1958 speech at the Broadcast Educators Association’s annual conference. Murrow’s speech criticized the growing commercialization of broadcasting and is often referenced even today by those in the profession. The blog entry was promoted in RTDNA’s email newsletter, which goes out to about 17,000 people. Quanbeck teaches broadcast journalism in the School of Communication and Journalism. You can find the RTNDA blog entry at this link:
http://www.rtdna.org/article/another_look_at_murrow_s_1958_rtnda_address

Terrie Manno and Kevin Zepper are featured artists on Prairie Public Television’s Prairie Musician series. Their program aired on July 24th but is available on demand at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DfKqq7mOUo

Film Studies Associate Professor, Dr. Anthony Adah, coached a session on ‘Television Programming’ for staff of MULTICHOICE, Africa’s leading entertainment consortium. The workshop on “Broadcasting in Nigeria” was at the School of Media & Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos.

By Kris Kerzman
A glowing blanket of stars stretched across the domed ceiling of the planetarium at Minnesota State University Moorhead Tuesday night, which is not at all out of the ordinary.
But then, a spaceship took aim at a space whale and blew it up.
That last part might be a bit out of the ordinary for the planetarium, which traded in its usual display of the night sky for an evening-long demonstration of the game “Artemis: Spaceship Bridge Simulator.”
The standing room-only event was sponsored by the planetarium and 702 Communications, a frequent organizer of gaming meetups in the Fargo-Moorhead area. It was also a way to encourage new audiences to visit the planetarium space and use its unique features, especially its big projection surface and a recently purchased digital projector.
“We can go into space, we can do gaming, we can do biology, we can do lots of kinds of stuff,” said Sara Schultz, director of the planetarium. “So we’re just trying to figure out what else we can use the planetarium for and how we can market it to more of an audience and get people in here for more than just astronomy. And, of course, get them in for astronomy, too.”
Schultz points to the planetarium’s recent laser light shows as another example of this effort.
The night of gaming worked for Evan Balko, 25. He said he hadn’t been to the planetarium since elementary school.
“The novelty of this being at a planetarium is kind of hard to resist,” Balko said. He was also excited to try “Artemis,” which puts a team of players each at their own laptop computers and with their own duties flying a ship. One player manages communications while another manages the weapons, for instance, while a captain gives orders.
Balko, who described himself as a moderate gamer (on ...

Attention MSUM Women: Join us for the GoFar Woman 5K Walk/Run on August 22. We can’t offer you a discount or a grand prize, but we can offer you an opportunity to network with fellow Dragons, get some exercise, and just have fun. Register at: http://www.gofarwoman.com/
Meet at SE corner of the Scheels Arena at 6:15 am. Race line up starts at 6:30 am and the 5K starts at 7 am. Wear a RED Dragon t-shirt if you have one!
There will be a gathering after the GoFar Woman event for ALL Dragon participants (5K, 10K, Relay, ½) at Shireen Alemadi’s house starting at approx. 9 am. For more information, email Shireen at alemadsh@mnstate.edu

INSTRUCTORS: As of August 1, 2015 a new license key (password) will become effective for our Respondus license. You will be unable to use Respondus after July 31 without the new key. If you currently use Respondus, email support@mnstate.edu to request the new key.
Please contact Instructional Technology Services at support@mnstate.edu or call 218.477.2603 if you have questions.
More information on what Respondus is and how it might be helpful to you is on our website.

August 3, 2015 is the financial commitment date by which students need to complete ONE of the following to maintain course registration:
• Make a minimum payment of $300 down toward tuition and fees.
• Release financial information by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and select MSU Moorhead from the drop-down menu.
• Contract an approved payment plan with Nelnet Business solutions (NBS).
• Provide a Third Party authorization to MSU Moorhead Business Services (DVR, Military Assistance, Employer Assistance, Employee Tuition Waiver, etc.).
For more information on tuition and payments visit this website: http://moe.mnstate.edu/business-services/tuition/

Thrivent Financial is pleased to offer 50 $1,000 student scholarship awards to support undergraduate and graduate students in the upcoming 2015-2016 academic year. Any student attending MSUM is eligible and no previous affiliation with Thrivent Financial or participation in the Thrivent Private Student Loan program is required. Final drawing to be held after August 31st. To be eligible, students must apply to win a scholarship between July 24 and August 31, 2015. Enter at:
https://service.thrivent.com/forms/creditunion/scholarship/50.php

The MSUM Planetarium is proud to present computer gaming in the dome.
Come to the planetarium on July 28th starting at 7 pm to check out ARTEMIS- Space Bridge Simulator
Bring your team and challenge other teams.
Bring your friends to watch it all happen on the dome above you.
http://www.facebook.com/msumplanetarium
https://www.facebook.com/events/104492019898386/?action_history=null

Information Technology will be updating servers Wednesday night starting at 9 pm. There will be a slight interruption in services while updates are applied. All updates will be done by 11 pm. Thanks and if you have any questions and/or concerns please email us at support@mnstate.edu.

Prairie Public Television’s local series “Prairie Musicians – Behind the Scenes,” features Lines&Notes, a duo created by MSUM faculty members Terrie Manno, music, and Kevin Zepper, English. The duo performs Manno’s musical compositions while Zepper reads his poetry. The full show airs Friday, July 24, at 9:30 p.m. on Prairie Public, and will later air on YouTube.
The duo also performed at the Prairie Region Teacher Training Institute in June at Concordia College. The training sessions focused on teaching and learning strategies, and were sponsored by Prairie Public.

Mondays in July feature silent films
Minnesota State University Moorhead’s Summer Cinema Series is about to end its 39th season with an evening of silent comedy short films.
Closing the series on Monday, July 27, is a selection of silent comedy short films by Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Charley Chase and Laurel & Hardy. After this showing, treats will be served in the hallway.
All shows are in Weld Hall on the MSUM campus and start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $4 per movie, and are available at the door. Pre-show organ music performed by organists Alex Swanson (July 6 and 20)and Ryan Hardy (July 13 and 27)begins at 7:15 p.m.

The White Earth Communities Collaborative Committee proudly presents Minnesota’s largest Brain Development Conference. This annual conference is highly praised internationally for offering cutting-edge information and strategies from national and local experts to use in the home, early childhood programs, elementary/secondary classrooms or programming on the developing child.
August 11th (Pre-Conference), August 12th & 13th, 2015 at the Shooting Star Event Center, Mahnomen, MN.
For more information contact:
White Earth Child Care/Early Childhood Program, (218) 983-3285, Extension 1407.

As part of 2015-16 Welcome Week, Pres. Anne Blackhurst will begin the school year with comments to faculty and staff at 9 a.m., Tuesday Aug. 18. The presentation will be at Hansen Theatre and can also be seen online at www.mnstate.edu/president.
At supervisors’ discretion, campus offices may be closed so staff can attend.
Faculty and staff are also invited to participate in Convocation on Friday, Aug. 21. Faculty and staff with advanced degrees are asked to wear academic regalia and line up at 9 a.m. in Nemzek Hall. All other staff members are invited to participate in the student processional, also lining up at 9 a.m.
A full list of Welcome Week activities can be found at https://news.mnstate.edu/2015/05/fall-2015-welcome-week-schedule/.

The MSUM blog on the AreaVoices section of In-Forum.com was hacked yesterday. The hackers used a provocative headline to sell academic ghost writing. The posting was removed and we are attempting to find out how it happened so we can prevent it from happening again.

On Thursday, July 23rd members of the US Navy will be on campus to partner with MSUM College for Kids & Teens. The students participating will hear a presentation on the USS Constitution in the morning before going to classes. Members of the Navy will also be visiting a few different courses to help out and talk with the students.
During lunch (11:50am – 1pm) the US Navy Jazz Combo will put on a public concert! College for Kids & Teens would like to invite the campus community to come and enjoy the concert and a FREE lunch (grilled burgers, chips, cookies and lemonade). Lunch has been donated through collaboration with Sodexo and College for Kids & Teens as a “Thank You” to the campus community for all the support to help make 2015 College for Kids & Teens a huge success!
This event is one of many that the US Navy will put on while in town for #NavyWeekFargo. Check out the website for more information on all the events (July 20 – July 26).

TEDxFargo – it’s more than a conference. On top of taking in big ideas worth spreading from our 20+ speakers, your TEDxFargo ticket gets you lots of other perks. We’ll keep your body and mind nourished all day long, providing you endless caffeine and hydration, light breakfast, full lunch, delicious snacks and more. This year’s TEDx theme is WONDER … a place where probability is suspended and possibility is born.
TEDxFargo is proud to introduce to you three (of many!) speakers that focus on education.Are you an #AnneFan? We are! Meet Dr. Anne Blackhurst:
It’s been less than a year since Dr. Anne Blackhurst became president of Minnesota State University Moorhead, but in that time, she’s still created quite the following. (Seriously- there’s an entire backchannel on social media that exists in her honor.)
Dr. Blackhurst is using her 30+ years in higher education to lead the university for the long run. She’ll take the TEDxFargo stage to share her passion for helping others unlock their potential. Don’t miss it.

Hello Dragon Family,
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions is looking for a new name for Fire Up Fridays. Our goal is to find a name that accurately reflects what perspective students and their guests encounter while visiting MSU-Moorhead on Fridays.
For those who don’t know, Friday visits incorporate an Admissions and Financial Aid presentation, walking campus tour, and any academic or student services appointments requested by the student. We feel the current name, Fire Up Friday doesn’t correctly describe the great experience offered by our campus to prospective students.
Please submit your suggestions to Shaun Manning at shaun.manning@mnstate.edu
We look forward to hearing from you! The winning submission will receive Dragon swag courtesy of Undergraduate Admissions!